The Subject Marker in Bantu As an Antifocus Marker*
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1 Parameters of Morpho-Syntactic Variation
This paper appeared in: Transactions of the Philological Society Volume 105:3 (2007) 253–338. Please always use the published version for citation. PARAMETERS OF MORPHO-SYNTACTIC VARIATION IN BANTU* a b c By LUTZ MARTEN , NANCY C. KULA AND NHLANHLA THWALA a School of Oriental and African Studies, b University of Leiden and School of Oriental and African Studies, c University of the Witwatersrand and School of Oriental and African Studies ABSTRACT Bantu languages are fairly uniform in terms of broad typological parameters. However, they have been noted to display a high degree or more fine-grained morpho-syntactic micro-variation. In this paper we develop a systematic approach to the study of morpho-syntactic variation in Bantu by developing 19 parameters which serve as the basis for cross-linguistic comparison and which we use for comparing ten south-eastern Bantu languages. We address conceptual issues involved in studying morpho-syntax along parametric lines and show how the data we have can be used for the quantitative study of language comparison. Although the work reported is a case study in need of expansion, we will show that it nevertheless produces relevant results. 1. INTRODUCTION Early studies of morphological and syntactic linguistic variation were mostly aimed at providing broad parameters according to which the languages of the world differ. The classification of languages into ‘inflectional’, ‘agglutinating’, and ‘isolating’ morphological types, originating from the work of Humboldt (1836), is a well-known example of this approach. Subsequent studies in linguistic typology, e.g. work following Greenberg (1963), similarly tried to formulate variables which could be applied to any language and which would classify languages into a number of different types. -
The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages
submitted for The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages Bantu languages: Typology and variation Denis Creissels (3rd draft, August 12 2019) 1. Introduction With over 400 languages, the Bantu family provides an excellent empirical base for typological and comparative studies, and is particularly well suited to the study of microvariation (cf. Bloom & Petzell (this volume), Marlo (this volume)). This chapter provides an overview of the broad typological profile of Bantu languages, and of the major patterns and parameters of variation within the family. Inheritance from Proto-Bantu and uninterrupted contact between Bantu languages are certainly responsible for their relative typological homogeneity. It is however remarkable that the departures from the basic phonological and morphosyntactic structure inherited from Proto-Bantu are not equally distributed across the Bantu area. They are typically found in zone A, and to a lesser degree in (part of) zones B to D, resulting in a relatively high degree of typological diversity in this part of the Bantu area (often referred to as ‘Forest Bantu’), as opposed to the relative uniformity observed elsewhere (‘Savanna Bantu’). Typologically, Forest Bantu can be roughly characterized as intermediate between Savanna Bantu and the languages grouped with Narrow Bantu into the Southern Bantoid branch of Benue-Congo. Kiessling (this volume) provides an introduction to the West Ring languages of the Grassfields Bantu group, the closest relative of Narrow Bantu. Departures from the predominant typological profile -
Southern Africa As a Phonological Area
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology/Linguistics "Speaking (of) Khoisan" A symposium reviewing African prehistory 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area Christfried Naumann & Hans-Jörg Bibiko [email protected] Quelle: Clements & Rialland ( 2008 : 37 ) Contents 1. Introduction 3-15 2. Procedure 16-19 3. Results: Kalahari Basin 20-28 4. Results: Southeastern Bantu 29-42 5. Results: Southern Africa 43-54 (6. Local and dependent features - excluded) 55-61 7. MDS and k-means 62-68 8. Summary 69 (9. Contact scenarios) 70-74 Acknowledgements 75 References 76-77 2 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Phonological similarities • large consonantal inventory (45 c.) • clicks • aspirated and ejective stops • dorsal affricate 3 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Phonological similarities • large consonantal inventory (50 c.) • clicks • aspirated, slack voiced, ejective and imploisve stops •(dorsal affricate) lateral obstruents • 4 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Phonological similarities • large consonantal inventory (68 c.) • (clicks) • aspirated, breathy and implosive stops • lateral obstruents 5 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa as a phonological area 1. Introduction Example: Distribution of ejectives/glottalized consonants Clements & Rialland (2008: 62) Maddieson (2013) 6 "Speaking (of) Khoisan", 16/05/2015 Southern Africa -
My Country South Africa: Celebrating Our National Symbols and Heritage
My Country SouthAfrica celebrating ournationalsynbols&heritage My Country South Africa celebrating our national symbols & heritage Department of Education Race and Values Sol Plaatje House 123 Schoeman Street Pretoria South Africa Tel: +27 (12) 312 5080 [email protected] updated 2ndedition Cover photos courtesy SA Tourism, Parliament of South Africa Parliament of South and Department of Education photos courtesyCover SA Tourism, updated 2nd edition My Country South Africa celebrating our national symbols & heritage 2nd edition ISBN: 1-77018-108-3 © Department of Education 2006-2008 All rights reserved. You may copy material from this publication for use in non-profit education programmes if you acknowledge the source. For use in publications, please obtain the written permission of the Department of Education Enquiries Directorate: Race and Values, Department of Education, Room 223, 123 Schoeman Street, Pretoria Tel: (012) 312-5080 Fax: (012) 326-1909 Email: [email protected] The Department of Education gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Royal Netherlands Embassy towards the development and distribution of this publication. Page 3 My Country South Africa /ÃÊ«ÕLV>ÌÊ}}ÌÃÊÌiÊÃÌÀV>ÊVÌiÝÌÊvÊi>VÊ>Ì> symbol - when and how it came into being and the protocols >ÀÕ`ÊÌiÊÃ}wV>ViÊ>`Ê«ÀÌ>ViÊvÊi>V°ÊÌÊiÝ«>Ã]ÊvÀÊ iÝ>«i]Êw, when and where the National Flag should be flown, hung or stored. It also outlines the protocols around the singing of the National Anthem. Schools should ensure that the official version of the National Anthem is sung in full. Learners and educators should be made aware of the appropriate behaviour involved in singing the Anthem. -
Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages
Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal University of Cologne John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam / Philadelphia UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American 8 National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dimmendaal, Gerrit Jan. Historical linguistics and the comparative study of African languages / Gerrit J. Dimmendaal. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. African languages--Grammar, Comparative. 2. Historical linguistics. I. Title. PL8008.D56 2011 496--dc22 2011002759 isbn 978 90 272 1178 1 (Hb; alk. paper) isbn 978 90 272 1179 8 (Pb; alk. paper) isbn 978 90 272 8722 9 (Eb) © 2011 – John Benjamins B.V. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. John Benjamins Publishing Company • P.O. Box 36224 • 1020 me Amsterdam • The Netherlands John Benjamins North America • P.O. Box 27519 • Philadelphia PA 19118-0519 • USA UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs Table of contents Preface ix Figures xiii Maps xv Tables -
A First Approach to Information Structuring in Xitsonga/ Xichangana * Sabine Zerbian University of the Witwatersrand, [email protected]
SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics Vol.15 (2007): 65-78 A First Approach to Information Structuring in Xitsonga/ Xichangana * Sabine Zerbian University of the Witwatersrand, [email protected] 1. Introduction Studies on information structuring in Bantu languages show that the grammatical expression of information structure ranges from prosodic over morphological to syntactic means. With respect to prosodic means, research has shown that under focus suprasegmental changes occur which are associated with phonological phrasing (Byarushengo et al. (1976) for Haya, Kanerva (1990) for Chichewa) or not (Stucky (1979) for Makua), boundary tones are inserted (Hyman (1990) for Kinande), or downdrift is manipulated (Downing et al. (2004) for Chichewa). With respect to morphological means, mainly verb morphology has been reported (e.g. Givón (1975) for Kirundi and Bemba, Güldemann (1996), Hyman & Watters (1984) for Aghem). With respect to syntactic means, a syntactic immediately postverbal focus position has been claimed for some languages (e.g. Hyman & Watters (1984) for Aghem), as well as syntactic displacement in conjunction with a focus marker for others (e.g. Bergvall (1987) for Kikuyu, Sabel & Zeller (2006) for Nguni languages). The present paper investigates the grammatical means for the information structuring of a sentence that have been reported for the South-east Bantu language Xitsonga, paying attention to prosodic, morphological and syntactic phenomena. The paper is organised as follows: Section 2 presents a brief introduction to Xitsonga. Section 3 investigates the studies that are relevant to information structuring in detail, starting with syntax (section 3.1), morphology (section 3.2) and prosody (section 3.3). Section 4 concludes and shows areas for further research. -
Idiosyncratic Sound Systems of the South African Bantu Languages: Research and Clinical Implications for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
Page 1 of 8 Original Research Idiosyncratic sound systems of the South African Bantu languages: Research and clinical implications for speech-language pathologists and audiologists Authors: The objective of this article is to create awareness amongst speech-language pathologists and Anita van der Merwe1 audiologists in South Africa regarding the difference between the sound systems of Germanic Mia le Roux1 languages and the sound systems of South African Bantu languages. A brief overview of the Affiliations: sound systems of two Bantu languages, namely isiZulu and Setswana, is provided. These two 1Department of Speech- languages are representative of the Nguni language group and the Sotho group respectively. Language Pathology and Consideration is given to the notion of language-specific symptoms of speech, language Audiology, University Of Pretoria, South Africa and hearing disorders in addition to universal symptoms. The possible impact of speech production, language and hearing disorders on the ability to produce and perceive speech Correspondence to: in these languages, and the challenges that this holds for research and clinical practice, are Anita van der Merwe pointed out. Email: [email protected]. za Introduction Postal address: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists in South Africa have to serve a PO Box 70030, The Willows, linguistically diverse population. Additionally, SLPs and audiologists come from different Pretoria 0041, South Africa language backgrounds. South Africa is a multilingual country with 11 official languages. Two of these languages, English and Afrikaans, are Germanic languages, whilst the remaining nine Dates: are South African Bantu languages. The Bantu languages of South Africa belong to the Bantu Received: 09 Apr. -
Bantu Languages of Southern Africa Handout
Bantu languages of Southern Africa: an overview “Speaking (of) Khoisan”: a symposium reviewing southern African prehistory. Hilde Gunnink - Ghent University - [email protected] Koen Bostoen - Ghent University - [email protected] The Bantu expansionexpansion:: fffromfrom Cameroon/Nigeria to southern Africa Source: de Filippo et al. (2012) Southern Bantu Southern Bantu (cf. Doke 1954): many shared developments, but no single Proto-Southern-Bantu ancestor can be reconstructed due to lack of spirantisation and vowel merger in Sotho subgroup. Table 1: spirantization in Southern Bantu languages Spirantization No spirantization Proto -Bantu Nguni Tsonga Inhambane Venda Sotho Makua (Copi) *tu fu fu fu fu ru pu *ti si si si tshi ri hi Source: Janson (1991/1992) S.10: Shona • Korekore, Zezuru, Manyika, Karanga, Ndau, Kalanga • early split from Southern Bantu (Ehret 1972; Finlayson 1987) or unrelated to Southern Bantu (Janson 1991/1992) • similarities to Venda due to contact (Ehret 1972; Finlayson 1987) 1 S.20: Venda • shared developments with Sotho (Janson 1991/1992) S.30: Sotho • Southern Sotho, Pedi (Northern Sotho), Tswana, Kgalagadi, Lozi • outlier among Southern Bantu due to its seven vowel system and lack of spirantisation (Janson 1991/1992; Louw and Finlayson 1990; van der Spuy 1990) • Southern Sotho has clicks, as does Kgalagadi (Dickens 1987) S.40: Nguni • Xhosa, Zulu, Swati, Ndebele, Phuthi, Ngoni • all Nguni languages have clicks • possibly closer to the Sotho languages than to other subgroups (van der Spuy 1990) S.50: Tsonga -
Click Variation and Reacquisition in Two South African Ndebele Varieties
CLICK VARIATION AND REACQUISITION IN TWO SOUTH AFRICAN NDEBELE VARIETIES Stephan Schulz, Antti Olavi Laine, Lotta Aunio & Nailya Philippova This article deals with click consonants in two Nguni varieties of South Africa, namely isiNdebele, or Southern Ndebele, as it is better known outside of South Africa; and Sindebele, or Northern Transvaal Ndebele. We review previous research on the topic, in which isiNdebele been described as having a some- what reduced click inventory compared to better described Nguni languages, and Sindebele has been claimed to have lost clicks completely. We also review previous research on click loss, variation, and acquisition. We then describe the current situation of both language varieties regarding clicks. For Sindebele, we observe that while clicks indeed seem to have been almost completely replaced by other consonants, some speakers still do produce clicks in isolated words, possibly as a result of recent contact with isiZulu. In isiNdebele, we find that the lateral click has been lost almost completely, while the distinction between dental and postalveolar has been lost for some speakers (with most of them preferring the dental click), whereas some speakers still maintain the distinc- tion. We propose a tentative correlation between increasing formal education in the isiNdebele language and the tendency to maintain the two clicks as distinct, but generally find the functional load of the distinction to be very low, at least on a lexical level. 1. INTRODUCTION The language varieties known as Ndebele belong to the Nguni branch of the Southern Bantu languages. All Nguni languages are spoken in South Africa, with the exception of Northern Ndebele (or Zimbabwean Ndebele), which is spoken in Zimbabwe. -
Chapter 1: Language Policies in Africa
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES AND LANGUAGE CHOICE WITHIN THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICES WITH REFERENCE TO PRETORIA CENTRAL PRISON by DORAH RIAH MABULE submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the subject AFRICAN LANGUAGES at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF N SAULE NOVEMBER 2011 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly I would like to thank the All Mighty for being with me through the hardship of studying being a mother and a wife. Without His support and grace my efforts would have been in vain. Sincere thanks to my promoter Professor N Saule for his patience, guidance and encouragement through the entire study. Without him believing in me, this research study would not have been possible. To my husband Stephen (Moloto a’ Phaahla) and my children Moremadi, Mogale, Mahlatse and Mpho for being supportive even when things were not going well with my studies. Not forgetting my four grandchildren, Khutšo, Neo, Keneilwe and Katlego a’ Maputle a’ Moloto. I wish to thank also the Department of the Correctional Services for allowing me to conduct this study in the premises of the Pretoria Central Prison. I thank all my friends and my colleagues in the Department of Linguistics for encouraging me to plod on even when it was tough to do so. I’m indebted to my employer, Unisa, for financial support throughout my studies. Lastly, this study is dedicated to my late parents, Pheladi and Malope Dibakwane, I miss you very much, mum and dad. iii Student number: 575-081-4 I declare that Language attitudes and language choice within the correctional services with reference to Pretoria Central Prison is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. -
The Neuter Suffix -Ik- in Bantu
Draft for comments (2015) - Do not cite without author’s permission 1 The neuter suffix -ik- in Bantu 2 Sebastian Dom 3 KongoKing Research Group, Department of Languages and Cultures - Africa, 4 Ghent University, Belgium 5 6 1. Introduction 7 The agglutinative system of verbal suffixes is a fairly well-known grammatical feature of Bantu 8 languages among (typological) linguists. One would thus assume that in the tradition of Bantu 9 linguistics, these suffixes have been extensively analyzed and described. Unfortunately, this 10 can only be said to be true for a small number of all verbal suffixes reconstructed for Proto- 11 Bantu. The few verbal suffixes that have been the topic of a large number of detailed syntactico- 12 semantic studies are the applicative (Alsina & Mchombo 1990, 1993; Baker 1988, 1990; 13 Bostoen & Mundeke 2011; Bresnan & Moshi 1990; Cann & Mabugu 2007; Creissels 2004; 14 Dammann 1961; Demuth 1998; De Kind & Bostoen 2012; Harford 1993; Kähler-Meyer 15 1966)(Marten 2003, 2011, Marten & Kula 2014, Nakamura 1997, Ngonyani 1998a, 1998b, 16 2000, Ngonyani & Githinji 2006, Port 1981, Zeller & Ngoboka 2006), the passive (Biloa 1994, 17 Fleisch 2005, Givón & Kawasha 2006, Kawasha 2007, Kimenyi 1988, Kula & Marten 2008, 18 Stappers 1967, Trithart 1979, Woolford 1994) and the reciprocal (Dammann 1954, Dom et al. 19 forthcoming, Maslova 2000, 2007, Mchombo 1990, 1999, Mchombo & Ndunga 1994, 20 Mchombo & Ngalande 1980, Mudzingwa 2008, Mugane 1999, Ndayiragije 2002). Quite many 21 suffixes found in (the?) Bantu languages are still poorly described both from a syntactic and 22 semantic viewpoint, e.g. the extensive, the neuter, the positional, the repetitive, the separative, 23 and the tentive.1 A first aim of this article is to provide an in-depth analysis of one such suffix, 24 the neuter (the term used in Schadeberg 2006). -
The Historical Implications of the Linguistic Relationship Between Makua and Sotho Languages.1
The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library. Find more at: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ Available through a partnership with Scroll down to read the article. PULA Journal of African Studies, vol. 11, no. 1 (1997) The historical implications of the linguistic relationship between Makua and Sotho languages.1 H.M. Batibo, J. Moilwa, & N. Mosaka DepartmentofAfricanLanguagesand Literature UniversityofBotswana Introduction Makua, known also as Emakhuwa, is a Bantu language, spoken by the Wamakhua people who occupy the eastern coastal region from south Tanzania to most of northern Mozambique. There are over half a million Makua speakers in Tanzania and over 3.2 million speakers in Mozambique. It is Mozambique's most numerous language constituting over 27.5% of its population2 The Makua language forms a linguistic cluster with two other languages to the south, namely Elomwe and Chuabo. Together they form the greater Makua group. Not much has been written so far about the historical affiliation or movements of the Makua people. Sotho, on the other hand, is part of Southern Bantu and it comprises groups of people who are linguistically very closely related, namely the Basotho, Bapedi, Batswana, Bakgalagadi and Balozi, among others. These groups are said to have occupied their respective areas progressively from ADIIOO to ADI8003 The above groups are found mainly in present-day South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. They constitute a population of over 6 million people.